English Chess Forum

I'm told by friends that this guy was a chess player a long time ago although I didn't know him. He was a legend in the Arsenal stands and he certainly fits the description of a chess player judging by the links below. Does anyone remember him?

http://www.thecnj.com/islington/2009/09 ... 09_15.html

http://onlinegooner.com/article.php?sec ... d0S-m11LYM

See
http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.c ... -folk.html

Yes - I remember him at various events. He clearly irritated some people but he was certainly a character and entertaining. He was a useful and dangerous player as well, then suddenly disappeared from the chess scene.

Looking at the YMCA v Streatham result brought back memories - I've played well over half the people in that match.

Presumably Chris Rice's friends must have seen the blog piece? Has it appeared on Arsenal sites?

I knew Daniel Feinstein in the 70s, when we bumped into each other regularly on the tournament circuit. Physically unattractive, perpetually sweaty, annoying - but interesting I suppose. People like that tend to latch onto me: I guess they recognize a kindred spirit.

Nowadays, with his lack of social skills and obsessions he'd be diagnosed, rightly or wrongly, on the autistic spectrum. Would it have helped him? Was he happy as he was or would he have liked to be more 'neurotypical'? Who knows?

Digression on other chessing Feinsteins:

There was another strong junior in the 70s: Joel Feinstein. I have a vague memory of asking Danny if they were related and being told that they were cousins. However, I've tried to trace them back through BMD records and haven't been able to find any direct link. Both their families seem to have been part of the Jewish diaspora from Russia who settled in the East End of London in the late 19th century.

I have in my hand a copy of the latest issue of New in Chess, which includes a fascinating article on Carlos Torre written by their occasional contributor Adam Feinstein. I also have on my desk a book called The History of Autism: Conversations with Pioneers, by (I assume) the same Adam Feinstein. Adam, born in 1957, is a writer and journalist, the father of a son with autism, and the editor of two autism-related websites.

I can't find any Adam Feinsteins born in or near 1957, so he could well be the Mark A Feinstein born in 1957, who is a brother of the aforementioned Joel.

I knew him in the early 1980s, often seeing him on the congress circuit. At the 1983 British Championship at Southport he was spending his spare time conducting research into Arsenal Football Club at the headquarters of the Football League at nearby Lytham St Annes. He was clearly fanatical even then, so I am not surprised he became 'Mr Knowledge'.

JustinHorton wrote:Presumably Chris Rice's friends must have seen the blog piece? Has it appeared on Arsenal sites?

I don't think they did Justin but I've rectified that now and asked them for some anecdotes.

Richard James wrote: Digression on other chessing Feinsteins:

There was another strong junior in the 70s: Joel Feinstein. I have a vague memory of asking Danny if they were related and being told that they were cousins. However, I've tried to trace them back through BMD records and haven't been able to find any direct link. Both their families seem to have been part of the Jewish diaspora from Russia who settled in the East End of London in the late 19th century.

Joel Feinstein is a lecturer in mathematics at Nottingham University. He played chess for the University Staff team when they were a separate entity to the Students (there is now just a Nottingham University team). My scorebook shows a draw with him in 1994/5 - not a game to trouble this board with!

I happen to have a game of his lying about. It was memorable for his constant draw offers which wore me down eventually.[Event "Lloyds Bank Junior"] [Site "?"] [Date "1981.08.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Feinstein, D."] [Black "Thomas, N."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C18"] [PlyCount "89"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5 7. Qd2 Qa4 8. f4 Nc6 9. Nf3 c4 10. Be2 Bd7 11. Rb1 O-O-O 12. O-O Nge7 13. Kh1 h5 14. Qd1 g6 15. Be3 Nf5 16. Bf2 h4 17. Kg1 Qxa3 18. Qd2 a6 19. Ra1 Qf8 20. Rfb1 Na7 21. Qc1 Nb5 22. Qb2 Bc6 23. Ra5 Kc7 24. Qa1 Ra8 25. Qb2 Qe7 26. Rba1 Ng7 27. Be1 Nf5 28. Bf2 Ng7 29. Be1 Ne8 30. Bf2 Kc8 31. Be1 Nec7 32. Qc1 Kd7 33. Qe3 Rh7 34. h3 Rah8 35. Nh2 Rg8 36. Nf3 Ne8 37. Qd2 Ng7 38. Bf2 Nf5 39. Ng5 Rh6 40. Bg4 Nc7 41. Qe1 Rgh8 42. Rb1 Bb5 43. Raa1 Ne8 44. Bxf5 gxf5 45. Be3 1/2-1/2

I've just received an email from Ray Cannon informing me that Daniel and Joel were in fact cousins. Daniel's father Alan and Joel's father Arnold were brothers. Alan's surname was misspelt Finestein on his birth record which was why I'd been unable to find it.

Remember him also being very fond of Frank Sinatra music...but we´re going back to the early 1980s.

To die of kidney problems so young suggests to me the very real possibility of diabetes.